Hiei of Alesia

Chapter 9

Command and Loss

There was a resounding silence about the room. For the last several hours various crew members aboard the Angelan had come to thank Hiei personally for volunteering to stay aboard the Ori cruiser. Each time left a pot mark in his soul for it awakened memories and old scars that had yet to heal. He lost not only several good men on that god forsaken ship, but several friends. He was trying to get some rest while the Angelan restocked and went through its final checks before launch.

Hiei lied in his bed with his eyes closed listening to the sound of his heart beat and the steady rhythm of his breathing. Before long he heard a knock on his door. 'Figures' he thought aloud as he grumpily made his way over to the door. As the door opened he noticed a familiar face though he couldn't quite put his finger on where she came from.

Pointing a finger at the woman Hiei said, "You… I know you from somewhere."

"Atlantis," the woman replied.

"That's right, you're the High Councilors delivery girl."

"Secretary."

"How's that going by the way."

"He requested that I be your assistant."

"Spy."

"I thought it would be good for my career to work with a national hero."

"Yes I'm sure you 'jumped' on the opportunity, yet I have no need of your 'services' or a spy."

Before Hiei had a chance to react the woman slapped him across the face leaving a mark on his cheek.

Her nostrils flaring with anger the woman yelled, "That is the last time you will imply that I am a prostitute."

"Touch me again and I can't guaranty your safety."

"My name is Elri by the way and I assume I'm going to be working here."

"I work on the bridge. You will not be in this room unattended. Classified information and all."

"Command officers have office quarters. They can work out of their rooms if need be."

"I am the second in command of this vessel and a bridge officer, hence I work on the bridge. But if you want to hang around me all day like a little girl with a crush you can report there at 0600. However, this room is off limits."

As the days and weeks passed Amann and Hiei remised about old times long since passed and looked forward towards the future. They knew that the Ori where still out there and that they would return one day. As Amann made the transition to the Lantean Council, Hiei stayed behind as the Commander of the Angelan. Before they left dock on that fateful day Moros had forced the Lt. Commander was someone who directly owed him a favor. Hiei knew that the man could not be trusted. This also raised questions about his 'secretary'. If she was still spying on him then why the need for the second spy?

After a time the question was burned into his mind and as the months turned into years the burning question turned to paranoia, and the paranoia into insanity. While calm on the outside, there was a raging storm inside of Hiei. With the added stress of his new powers expanding almost faster then he could control them, he was at edge on a good day. He had no release for it. He was trapped. The Ori hadn't attacked in nearly 30 years. Why where they waiting? What could they be planning? The questions were driving him mad.

Ever since Amann had joined the Lantean Council he had been an outspoken member. Outspoken yet powerful and well respected amongst some of the military and had people that agreed with him though silently. Of the few who publicly supported Amann, Hiei was one of his strongest. Though that would be his downfall. One morning Hiei was awoken by someone pounding on his door. Upon opening it he was struck across the chin by the butt of a rifle.

Staggering back he grabbed a knife off his desk and threw it into the assailants throat. While the man fell to his knees Hiei grabbed the hilt of his sword that was on his desk and drew the blade out of the sheath with one quick motion. He ran out into the hall and slammed the hilt into someone's face before cutting down through the man and back up behind him. Two bodies hit the floor while Hiei stabbed the blade through the heart of a man behind the one to his left. As a stunner hit him from behind he had only enough time to think 'I'm getting too old for this' before he lost consciousness.

He awoke in cell on the Angelan with his hands and feet bound. Not to mention a terrible headache. Standing just outside the cell was his second in command with a smirk on his face.

The man looked at him and said, "Hiei Jaganshi, former Captain, you are hereby stripped of all rank and title under the authority of Moros, High Councilor of Atlantis. Your crimes are as follows. High treason, resisting arrest, and 4 counts of murder."

With a flash of what could only be described as 'death' in his eyes Hiei replied in a calm, cold, unwavering yet hostile tone, "How about we make it 5 and you step inside."

"Now, now Hiei you knew this was coming."

"Aelius you traitorous worm, of course I knew you would be the one to betray me. It was just a matter of time."

"You should have taken the High Councilors offer all those years ago."

"How does it feel to be the man slave of a corrupt man?"

"I am no slave."

"You say that know, but one day, when you are not so young you will realize that you made a mistake."

"You and all 50,000 plus of Amann's followers will be exiled."

"Followers. You suggest that we are a cult…"

"You all believe in that which is not there."

"It is there for those who are not blind to see and you know as well as I do that Moros…"

"High Councilor Moros."

"Will not simply exile me."

"No he won't"

Aelius left and Hiei never saw anyone until the day of the trail. The trail went on just Hiei had seen over the last several years in fragments and each aggravating moment caused Hiei's blood to boil even more then the last. Each man that testified against them got up and presented their piece of hearsay or fabricated evidence to present to Moros. Until finally Moros stood up and addressed them with his final verdict.

Moros stood up and announced, "Amann and the rest of the traitors that follow him are banished for all time to the planet Alesia," He then pointed at Hiei and continued to say, "You however will be imprisoned in a geosynchronous orbit around a black hole."

Hiei yelled at Moros while being dragged out of the room, "You will regret this. One day I will return and remove your head from your neck. Mark my words you corrupt bastard of a politician."

Once again Hiei found himself unconcious. This time when he awoke, he was alone. All alone. He could feel the gravilty of the black hole crushing him down towards the floor of the prison that was his new home. As extreme as it was Hiei could still stand. The ship that had brought him there had long since departed. Hiei immediatly began searching the facility for anything that he could get his hands on. It took him a few days and it wasn't much but Hiei had scrounged enough to make an engine of sorts.

Over the next week Hiei was hard at work. After he built the engine he started make a ship around it. Anything he could rip off the walls of his prison without causing a breach he tore off. Either to use to use as for something else or for parts to repair an essential part. The main thing that surpised Hiei was that there was a cloaking device on the stationand yet he knew that he would need weapons. He made make shift neuton lasers from some lab equipment he found lieing around, though they wouldn't last long, he only needed a couple of minutes. Next was a grappling hook of sorts that he would run an EM field alond that should fry most electronics on the ship that gets hit by it. The final addition was a plasma torch that mounted to the bottom of the craft, perfect for cutting holes into other ships.

Hiei rigged some explosives to the wall in front of his new ship. There was only one ting missing. He had to take the guidance system out of the prison and put it into his own ship. While the task was simple enough he would have to hurry. That guidance system was the only thing that was causing the prison to not fall into the black hole. Once he accomplished the feat he jumped into the cockpit and left the prison with a semse of urgency.

Once out of the extreme pull of the black hole Hiei set course for the nearest inhabited planet that showed up on the computer. Once there Hiei recognized the star system. It was Alesia. It was his home. Yet with all that had happened he felt no pride, only pain. This planet had been the place of his birth was now the prison for his freind. Out in the distance he could see something that wasn't there before. The computer brought up a display of a ship that had left the planets surface. It wa large and had several thousand people on board. By the size he figured it was a capital ship. P Upon approaching the star sytem Hiei detected a ship. Judging by the size of the ship and the ammount of personell on board, Hiei figured that it was a capital ship. Probably belonging to a high ranking member of the Lantean Council. Probably belonging to Moros. His vengeance was at hand.